


FlashSlash - 4 ficlets, prompts 145 and 146

by DorsetGirl



Category: Sharpe (TV), Sharpe - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28723137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorsetGirl/pseuds/DorsetGirl
Summary: Sharpe and Harper ride again.
Relationships: Patrick Harper/Richard Sharpe





	FlashSlash - 4 ficlets, prompts 145 and 146

**Author's Note:**

> [Flashslash](https://flashslash.livejournal.com/) is a now-inactive comm where the idea is to pick a fandom, look at a list of four prompt words, and then allow yourself 8 minutes to write a slashfic in that fandom using all four words. I was reminded of the existence of the comm while I was looking back over old fics on my journal and decided to have a go for the first time in years.
> 
> Fics were supposed to be posted unedited, but as I haven’t done this for years I decided to allow myself 30 seconds at the end of each for tidying up.

**Flashslash Challenge #146. Prompt set 1 - cannon, gone, entire, engage**

[I already knew this was going to be Sharpe/Harper, so I was greatly amused to see the word “cannon” amongst the prompts.] 

Sharpe watched as the cannons rolled up the dusty road towards him. He’d been riding hither and yon all day trying to find out what was happening but now he stopped to watch as an entire troop marched by behind the guns.

Then he spurred his horse and rode on; time enough to engage with the battalion later, but for now he needed to find Harper. He knew he was here somewhere, but where?

Patrick spat on his hand and held it out to a slightly shocked-looking senior officer to seal the deal. Ten guineas for five minutes’ work, not bad at all, he thought. Now he’d have more than enough to hire a room in which to entertain Richard Sharpe tonight.

Not for them the Duchess of Richmond’s ball. Sharpe had an invitation, of course, from his position on Silly Billy’s staff, but he’d promised Harper he wouldn’t go.

“Might be our last chance together, Pat,” he’d said. Something about his eyes had worried Patrick - it wasn’t like Sharpe to entertain the idea of not coming back from a battle, even though God knows they’d gone through enough together.

They lay down together, hands entwined like children then laughed as they moved their hands together from Richard’s body to Pat’s and back again. 

“Oh God, Pat,” Sharpe gasped, “Do that again.”

“Like this, do you mean?” Harper said slyly, moving his hand suddenly to Richard’s arse.

“Oh fuck me, that’s good.” 

“Is that an exclamation or a request, sir?” Harper laughed.

“Whatever you damn well please, Pat, but get on with it before I give up waiting and do you instead.”

Sharpe turned over and looked over his shoulder tauntingly at Pat.

“Go on then, show me your aim is still true,” he challenged.

# # #

**Flashslash Challenge 145, Prompt 1 - buckle, rash, gut, exquisite**

Sharpe did up the buckle of his belt and patted his empty gut. Perhaps today they’d find some decent food. He hoped so, the men hadn’t eaten properly for a week.

“Pat?” he said. 

“Sir,” Harper replied.

“None of that, Pat, not in here, you know that.”

“I do know that, Richard, I do. What is it?”

“If I fall today, will - “

“NO - I will not, because you’re not going to fall, and if you do fall it will literally be over my dead body and I have no intention of dying today. I have a little surprise for you this evening, so I do.”

“Pat, I need you to know what to do, if I fall.”

“I’ll not say this again, Richard. You will not fall while I am alive, I swear to God and by the Holy Mother. God put me on this earth to look after you, Richard, and so I shall. Always.”

Sharpe stopped trying to explain himself. He’d written a will in which he’d left everything to Patrick, but it gave him some kind of twisted exquisite joy to know that if he did die today, he would do so only seconds behind Harper and they would be together forever.

“OK then,” he said rashly. “Come here and give us a kiss before we go out there.”

Harper looked surprised - kissing wasn’t normally on their agenda - but he acquiesced readily enough, and they stood together quietly for a minute before going out to inspect the men.

# # #

**Flashslash Challenge #145 - Prompt set 2 : rage, sensitivity, florid, economical**

[I found this set of prompts very difficult and failed to include “economical”.]

Sharpe laughed out loud at the look of rage on Harper’s face. Not exactly known for his sensitivity at the best of times, Private Mackie had put his foot right through the piece of cloth Harper had painstakingly smoothed to use as a polishing cloth for the new gun he was so proud of.

“Jaysus will you look at that you clodhopping eejit, you’ve ruined it.” 

Patrick went on to swear fluently and floridly for several minutes while Mackie stood awkwardly, half at attention and half cringing in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, Sarge, truly, I’ll get you another one, I promise.”

“See that you do, Mackie, see that you do.”

It was many hours later that Mackie came back with a new piece of cloth.

Sharpe and Harper looked at it together, then Sharpe turned abruptly away before he started laughing. He had no doubts of his authority over his men, but there were definitely times when it was best to play the officer and keep a discreet distance.

Mackie had clearly searched the entire camp for a suitable piece of cloth, and Sharpe could hardly wait to find out which senior officer’s lady was now missing a highly coloured pair of silk bloomers.

Later that night, after they’d torn the bloomers apart, Sharpe and Harper amused themselves by wiping the sweat off each other with the beautiful silk pieces.

# # #

**FlashSlash Challenge 145 - Prompt Set 2 - egg, ogle, bugger(y), bagpipe**

Sharpe ducked into the tent and came to an abrupt halt. The new Major had his back to Sharpe and was playing what appeared - but did not sound - to be an actual set of bagpipes. “Borrowed” from the 78th, he assumed.

Sharpe glanced across at Jack, who shrugged slightly.

At the end of the mission briefing, Sharpe declined to stay for _Haste Ye To The Wedding_ , though he’d have quite liked to stay and ogle Jack’s fine figure for a few more minutes, and he made his escape as the Major started blowing up his pipe bag again.

“Sir, Sir!” called Harper as he neared his men’s dinner fire. “Eggs, sir! Saved a couple just for you, so I did.”

“Thanks Pat, haven’t had an egg in weeks - oh, buggering hell, Pat, couldn’t you have cooked it first? Look at my trousers!”

“No problem there sir, just you pop into your tent and pass them out to me and I’ll get Ramona to wash them for you; she’ll have them dry for you for tomorrow so she will.”

Sharpe went into his tent, situated tactfully a decent distance from his men, but instead of passing his trousers out he dragged Pat in to take them off for him. 

“Now then, Sir, what do we have here?” Pat said teasingly. “You got something you need me to take care of for you, before I take your trousers to Ramona?”

“You know I do, Pat, I saw you looking. Come over here and help me off with these, and then we’ll see what needs taking care of.”

What with Sharpe’s business that needed taking care of, and another job that came up along the way, it was some time before Pat slipped quietly out of his officer’s tent to take the egg-spattered trousers to Ramona. With any luck he’d get to help put them back on in the morning, too.


End file.
